EPF (Ethereum Protocol Fellowship) - Fourth Cohort

# Ethereum Protocol Fellowship - Fourth Cohort I will be participating in the [fourth cohort of the Ethereum Protocol Fellowship](https://github.com/eth-protocol-fellows/cohort-four) program and this document will serve as a summary of my progress. I intend to work part-time and I'll post regular updates here while keeping things concise. My current goal is to familiarize myself with the Ethereum protocol and gain enough context to identify a topic that best fits my interests and schedule. --- ## Phase 1 ### Week 0 I immersed myself in the Ethereum protocol by going through some of the suggested reading materials. Here are some interesting topics about the future of Ethereum worth exploring further. Potentially, I could work on projects related to these: * Stateless * Light clients * Sharding * Space Renting * EVM 2.0 / VM upgrades General resources * [x] [Conceptual overview](https://ethereum.stackexchange.com/questions/268/ethereum-block-architecture) * [x] [Basic technical details of Ethereum Blockchain Protocol - Vitalik Buterin](https://youtu.be/gjwr-7PgpN8) * [x] [Ethereum in 30 minutes - Vitalik Buterin](https://youtu.be/UihMqcj-cqc) * [x] [Design rationale](https://web.archive.org/web/20211121044757/https://ethereumbuilders.gitbooks.io/guide/content/en/design_rationale.html) * [x] [Inevitable Ethereum](https://inevitableeth.com/site/content) provides a wiki kind of content convering many basic and advanced research topics * [x] [Yellow paper course](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e84V1MxRlYs) * [x] [Yellow paper cheat sheet](https://github.com/benjaminion/YellowPaper_CheatSheet/blob/master/YPCheatSheet.pdf) * [x] [EVM illustrated](https://takenobu-hs.github.io/downloads/ethereum_evm_illustrated.pdf) * [x] Overview: https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos/ * [x] Why Proof of Stake? (Vitalik Buterin): https://vitalik.ca/general/2020 * [x] LMD Ghost Fork Choice Algorithm: https://medium.com/@aditya.asgaonkar/bitwise-lmd-ghost-an-efficient-cbc-casper-fork-choice-rule-6db924e57d1f * [x] [Nodes and Clients](https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/nodes-and-clients/#clients) --- ### Week 1 I explored various projects from the proposed ideas to gain a better understanding of the scope and implications of each project and to identify a topic to work on. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to explore all of the proposed ideas. I have explored the following projects: **Fuzzing** - *Create new fuzzers for software in order to find potential vulnerabilities, or improve on existing fuzzing frameworks. Networking in particular is an area where this could see some improvements on, but clients on the execution layer and consensus layer could also benefit from additional fuzzing.* Unfortunately, there isn't much context or detail provided to describe the current limitations or what needs improvement. I've gone through the suggested repositories and explored all open issues, but there aren't many. **Improving hive for End-to-End Testing** - *Hive can evolve into more sophisticated tool for e2e testing which allows to run the Consensus and Execution clients as they would be run by the end users.* **Ephemery testnet** - *Contribute to integration of public ephemeral testnet. Research and feedback the spec, create implementations in clients and/or client testing, end user tooling, e.g. dappnode, nicenode, stereum. Check the specs and network details.* **P2P protocol tests** **Ipsilon** - *Research around the EVM, specifically (but limited to): EOF-compatible 4337 Consensus-level eth supply calculation and exposing it as an opcode EVM memory repricing -- analysis and proposing a solution EVM analysis and design of transfer functions (executing and non-executing)* I'm interested in this project. However, given the timeframe and my current schedule, I'm concerned about the scope being too large. I might consider a different project. * [x] https://notes.ethereum.org/@ipsilon/eof2-design-space * [x] [What's Next in EVM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyxtgilJgKg&list=RDCMUCNOfzGXD_C9YMYmnefmPH0g&index=10) * [x] [Why Account Abstraction is a Game-Changer for Dapps | Devcon Bogotá](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwppworJGzs) **Portal Network** - *Improve Portal Network interop tests (portal-hive), Portal State Network R&D, Portal DAS network R&D* * [x] [Democratizing Ethereum / Ethereum Core Protocols: Breaking Down the Monolith](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZxqRs_tLNs) * [x] [Light Clients After the Merge by Etan Kissling | Devcon Bogotá](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHNrAXf3RDE) * [x] https://www.ethportal.net/ * [x] [portal network specs](https://github.com/ethereum/portal-network-specs) * [x] [trin portal client](https://github.com/ethereum/trin), [ultralight portal client](https://github.com/ethereumjs/ultralight), [fluffy portal client](https://github.com/status-im/nimbus-eth1/blob/master/fluffy/README.md) * [x] [monitoring glados](https://github.com/Ethereum/glados) * [x] https://github.com/ethereum/eth-portal * [x] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAX_bgcESoc **Conesnsus specs** https://notes.ethereum.org/@hww/consensus-specs-wishlist * [x] [How to use Executable Consensus Pyspec by Hsiao-Wei Wang | Devcon Bogotá](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDUfYJkTeYw) * [x] [Ethereum Consensus Specs](https://github.com/ethereum/consensus-specs) ~~**By Tomasz Stanczak**~~ ~~**By Zahary Karadjov**~~ ~~**Ethereum Deb Repo**~~ ~~**Teku**~~ ~~**Besu**~~ I didn't have time to explore these projects: **Devops tooling wishlist** **Lodestar** **Prysm** **Lighthouse** **Alex Stokes** **RIG Opened Problems** **API for ETH supply** **By Yoav Weiss** **JSON-RPC improvements** --- ### Week 2 I decided to work on the "Fuzzing" project for two main reasons. On one hand, I'm interested in the security aspects of the protocol. On the other, I believe its scope aligns well with my schedule. So I've dedicated time to researching various fuzzing techniques, libraries, and related resources. * [x] [Fuzzing: Brute Force Vulnerability Discovery](https://www.amazon.com/Fuzzing-Brute-Force-Vulnerability-Discovery/dp/0321446119/) * [x] [Intro to fuzzing in Go](https://github.com/google/fuzzing/blob/master/docs/intro-to-fuzzing.md) * [x] [GopherCon 2022: Katie Hockman - Fuzz Testing Made Easy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KWPiRq3ZYI) * [x] [A Journey Into Fuzzing WebAssembly Virtual Machines](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3a5asx9aLQ) * [x] [Fuzzing Trail of Bits](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QofNQxW_K08&t=119s) * [x] [Fuzzing the Solidity Compiler by Bhargava Shastry (Devcon5)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAU5NbrXst0) * [x] [Talk: Fuzzing the Ethereum Consensus Layer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRRwY4WtdXo) * [x] [OffensiveCon22 - Patrick Ventuzelo - Beaconfuzz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nERNZ5mL46Q) * [x] [Nosy Neighbor - Automated Fuzz Harness Generation for Golang Projects by David Theodore](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrppANUs8zM) * [x] [NEUZZ: Efficient Fuzzing with Neural Program Smoothing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4ynjsA5CEQ) I also explored Ethereum's fuzz tooling to identify what is missing and which areas can be improved. Unfortunately, since there are not many issues documented in the repositories and no context is provided on the problem, it would require investing a significant amount of time in actually using the tools to identify the issues: * [x] https://github.com/holiman/goevmlab/ - execution infrastructure of evm tests * [x] https://github.com/holiman/txparse * [x] https://github.com/MariusVanDerWijden/FuzzyVM - differential fuzzing of EVM implementations * [x] https://github.com/MariusVanDerWijden/tx-fuzz - sends interesting transactions and creates load * [x] https://github.com/MariusVanDerWijden/merge-fuzz - fuzzes the engine api * [x] https://github.com/sigp/beacon-fuzz - fuzzes the beacon client, coverage guided fuzzer * [x] https://github.com/ethereum/c-kzg-4844/tree/main/fuzz * [x] https://github.com/jtraglia/kzg-fuzz * [x] https://github.com/guidovranken/cryptofuzz - coverage guided fuzzer * [x] https://github.com/infosecual/nosy * [x] https://github.com/snuspl/fluffy I invested more time to gain a better understanding of the various parts of the protocol and to determine which areas could benefit the most from fuzzing. * [x] [Talk | A Deep Dive into Go Ethereum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4N79UXZqSc) * [x] [Ethereum's Proof of Stake consensus explained](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gfNUVmX3Es) * [x] [Eth2 Phase 0 Technical Deep Dive by Alex Stokes & Chihcheng Liang (Devcon5)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5DdClfLQfw) * [x] [KZG Commitments, Layer 1 R&D - Day 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6s4zpypPT4) Apart from that, I delved into the Geth/Reth implementations and started working on a simple CLI to conduct very naive fuzz tests. This helped me explore how to interact with a node via the JSON-RPC interface. --- ## Phase 2 ### Week 3 Last week, I finally began working on the [project proposal](https://github.com/radkomih/fuzzetha/blob/master/docs/proposal.md). Since I haven't extensively used the existing tools and lack a deep understanding of the protocol, I'm not fully aware of their limitations. I've been pondering which layer of the protocol and which aspect would benefit most from fuzzing. As a result, I decided to start with the upcoming protocol changes, focusing specifically on the EVM. I'm considering creating a CLI tool to test newer protocol upgrades, believing that hands-on experience is the best way to learn. I'm still uncertain whether to stick with Go or opt for Rust for the development of the CLI tool. ### Week 4 I continued to progress on the project proposal. In addition to this primary task, I also dedicated time to familiarize myself with the upcoming upgrade, identifying opportunities where I could apply fuzzing techniques as well. This was not an easy task. To effectively fuzz test and exploit the upcoming changes, one needs to gain a deep understanding of them. This requires a significant investment of time, effort, and in-depth knowledge. * [x] [Ethereum Cat Herders - Dencun](https://www.ethereumcatherders.com/dencun/) * [x] https://www.eip4844.com/ * [x] [OP in Paris: OP Lab's Protolambda walks us through EIP-4844](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ_kIlxg3QA) * [x] [EIP-4844: Shard Blob Transactions with Terence & Kasey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lyb02wZQQ4&list=PL4cwHXAawZxpnKFDl1KzGOKqwux5JaLlv&index=2) --- ## Phase 3 ### Week 5 I began by reviewing the documentation for EL clients ([geth](https://geth.ethereum.org/docs), [reth](https://paradigmxyz.github.io/reth/intro.html)) and CL clients ([lighthouse](https://lighthouse-book.sigmaprime.io/)) on setting up a node for syncing on Sepolia. Subsequently, I established a local private network for testing purposes. I used my own CLI tool to send malicious payloads, aiming to understand how the node interacts and processes the inputs. Later, I opted to use an existing fuzzing tool for quicker tests. However, I encountered an issue when trying to run it based on the instructions in the readme. The specific problem can be found here: https://github.com/MariusVanDerWijden/tx-fuzz/issues/24. After some investigation, I managed to resolve my issue and successfully ran the fuzzer. The results were as expected, with no unexpected outcomes. ### Week 6 Last week, I delved deeper into the capabilities of [FuzzyVM](https://github.com/MariusVanDerWijden/FuzzyVM) to better understand its functionalities. However, I encountered an issue and subsequently submitted a pull request: https://github.com/MariusVanDerWijden/FuzzyVM/pull/30. After resolving the issue, I ran the fuzzer, which generated several test cases. I tested these cases with Geth's EVM. The plan was to proceed with the remaining clients, however, I didn't have enough time to work further on this project. ### Week 7 After experimenting with [FuzzyVM](https://github.com/MariusVanDerWijden/FuzzyVM), I noticed that it employs [goevmlab](https://github.com/holiman/goevmlab/) for test execution, so I decided to explore it further. While I'm not yet fully aware of all its capabilities, I observed that it supports several different EVMs, with the exception of reth's revm. This might be a valuable addition. * https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-3155 needs to be implemented by the evm * support for the flags that are available in other EVM implementations but are currently missing in revm. ### Week 8 I explored how to use the testing infrastructure of Ethereum, particularly the [tests](https://github.com/ethereum/tests) and the execution tool [retesteth](https://github.com/ethereum/retesteth). Here is a step-by-step guide on writing [state tests](https://github.com/ethereum/retesteth/wiki/Creating-a-State-Test-with-retesteth) which [FuzzyVM](https://github.com/MariusVanDerWijden/FuzzyVM) employs for its fuzzing tests. There are different types of tests: vm, state, etc. and to be able to fuzz test the upcoming changes, the tests format should reflect those changes. The required Dencun modifications on the state test format are still not proposed, so maybe I should look into the specs and see what needs to be changed. * [Cancun implementation progress](https://github.com/ethereum/execution-specs/blob/master/network-upgrades/mainnet-upgrades/cancun.md#implementation-progresss) * [geth cancun progress](https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/issues/27047) * [reth cancun progress](https://github.com/bluealloy/revm/issues/527) Resources: * [x] [Ethereum Protocol Testing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c4suAq7j0A) ### Week 9 Here's an interesting [resource](https://mariusvanderwijden.github.io/blog/2021/05/02/FuzzyVM/) describing the FuzzyVM, shared by Marius Van Der Wijden. He also highlighted that there is a shift going on from the [ethereum/tests](https://github.com/ethereum/tests), which are YAML test descriptions filled with data using the **t8n** tool (available in most execution clients). He emphasized that for the FuzzyVM to support testing the Cancun changes, up-to-date state tests are required. Unfortunately, these tests aren't easy to update, and typically only the people directly involved can do so, this is currently a blocker. However, there's an ongoing effort to transition to the [ethereum/execution-spec-tests](https://github.com/ethereum/execution-spec-tests), aiming to use it exclusively in the future. This could be a promising starting point for fuzzing the Cancun changes. ### Week 10 I transitioned to using the [ethereum/execution-spec-tests](https://github.com/ethereum/execution-spec-tests) to generate test fillers for Cancun. An important note is that specific **t8n** implementations and branches should be used when developing tests for upcoming EIPs. For the EIPs related to Cancun (4844, 4788, 1153, 6780), there's a fork of geth supporting them at marioevz/go-ethereum@cancun-t8n. Here are the steps to [execute the tests](https://ethereum.github.io/execution-spec-tests/getting_started/executing_tests_dev_fork/) for features that are not yet merged into main. [Work](https://github.com/paradigmxyz/reth/pull/1457) on implementing the **t8n** functionality in reth has been stalled.